1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates a system and method for managing water content in a fluid.
2. Background Art
Conventionally, water is collected from air, or other gaseous fluids, using condensation systems. An exemplary condensation system provides a surface cooled to a temperature that is at or below the dew point of incoming air. As is well known in the art, the cooling of air at or below its dew point causes the condensation of water vapor from the air and a decrease in the absolute humidity of the air. The humidity of a volume of air is substantially determinative of the amount of water that can be introduced into, or removed from, the volume of air.
Conventional water generation and removal systems collect water vapor from incoming airflows using condensation systems that lower the temperature of incoming air to a temperature that is at or below the dew point of the air. Therefore, the quantity of water produced by such systems depends on the humidity of the ambient air. The humidity and temperature of air varies, however, from region to region, with hot and humid air in tropical and semitropical regions, and cooler, less humid air in other parts of the world. The temperature and water vapor content of air also varies widely with seasonal weather changes in regions throughout the year. Therefore, depending on the region of the world, and depending on the time of year, humidification or dehumidification may be desirable, for example, to make an environment more comfortable.
In addition to increasing comfort, management of the amount of water in air may be important to industrial applications. Moreover, it may be desirable to remove water from air so that the water can be utilized, for example, for drinking, or in other applications where fresh water is desired. Regardless of the reason for managing the amount of water in the air, there are times when conventional water management systems have undesirable limitations. For example, when the dew point of the air is low, particularly when it is below the freezing point of water, it may be difficult or impossible to remove the water using a conventional system. The use of a desiccant material may be effective to remove water from air or other fluid streams in such situations. Conventional systems utilizing desiccants do not account for changes in environmental conditions—e.g., changing temperature and humidity of the fluid stream—which may adversely affect the efficiency of the system.
Therefore, there is a need for a system and method for managing the water content in a fluid that can extract water from the fluid even when the dew point is low. There is also a need for a system and method for managing water content in a fluid that can control desiccant parameters to maintain system efficiency, for example, in light of changing environmental conditions.